The OBJECTIVE

We developed a whole new creative platform from the ground up for Sullivan’s, one that we felt needed to be worthy of the revival of one of the iconic names in Irish brewing.

Their Maltings Ale had won Best Ale In The World at the International Brewing Awards, and they wanted to show that they were a brand that not only had a deep, storied legacy, but also cared deeply for the craft of brewing above all else.

The IDEA

Since 1702, there have been two iconic Kilkenny brewing families: The Sullivan’s and the Smithwick’s. The guys behind the new, rebooted Sullivan’s are related to both families, which makes them a brewing dream team.

So our creative through line became “It’s In Our Blood”. When you drink a pint of Sullivan’s, you’re drinking something made by a family with literally centuries of brewing experience. Their mission statement from the start has been a promise to take time to perfect each brew. This means their personality and craft is deeply infused in their product, compared to other, more mainstream Irish brewing families.

We saw the potential to show this by telling stories from the Sullivan family’s history, its hometown of Kilkenny, and its dedication to the craft of brewing.

The WORK

Given that Sullivan’s is effectively a new craft beer attached to a name with great historical value in the brewing world, we wanted to give our creative a feel of both the modern and the old.

The look we felt most nailed the tone we wanted to get across was the style of old Terry Gilliam animations from Monty Python. A lot of old-timey sourced stock images giving it a retro feel. Very collage-based and hand-made.

This style gave us license to be incredibly versatile. We created microvideos, illustrated images and animations, all with a strong, instantly recognisable Sullivan’s style and sense of humour.